Reference: John the Baptist
Easton
the "forerunner of our Lord." We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1Ch 24:10), and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron (Lu 1:5). The mission of John was the subject of prophecy (Mt 3:3; Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1). His birth, which took place six months before that of Jesus, was foretold by an angel. Zacharias, deprived of the power of speech as a token of God's truth and a reproof of his own incredulity with reference to the birth of his son, had the power of speech restored to him on the occasion of his circumcision (Lu 1:64). After this no more is recorded of him for thirty years than what is mentioned in Lu 1:80. John was a Nazarite from his birth (Lu 1:15; Nu 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Mt 3:1-12).
At length he came forth into public life, and great multitudes from "every quarter" were attracted to him. The sum of his preaching was the necessity of repentance. He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers," and warned them of the folly of trusting to external privileges (Lu 3:8). "As a preacher, John was eminently practical and discriminating. Self-love and covetousness were the prevalent sins of the people at large. On them, therefore, he enjoined charity and consideration for others. The publicans he cautioned against extortion, the soldiers against crime and plunder." His doctrine and manner of life roused the entire south of Palestine, and the people from all parts flocked to the place where he was, on the banks of the Jordan. There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in Nazareth (Mt 3:5), and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John, on the special ground that it became him to "fulfil all righteousness" (Mt 3:15). John's special office ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now "increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out to his disciples, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God." His public ministry was suddenly (after about six months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip (Lu 3:19). He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus (q.v.), a fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Mt 14:3-12). John's death occurred apparently just before the third Passover of our Lord's ministry. Our Lord himself testified regarding him that he was a "burning and a shining light" (Joh 5:35).
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Then the LORD told Moses, "Tell the Israelis that a man or woman who commits to the vow of the Nazirite, is to be separated to the LORD, read more. then is to remain separate from wine and strong drink. He is not to drink vinegar or strong drink made from wine. He is not to drink grape juice or eat grapes, whether fresh or dried. During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to eat any product from the grapevine, from the seed to the skin. During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to allow a razor to pass over his head until the days of his holy consecration to the LORD have been fulfilled. He is to let the locks on his head grow long. "During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to come near a dead body. He is not to defile himself on account of his father, mother, brother, and sister when they die, because the crown of his consecration to God is on his head. During the entire time of his dedication, he is set apart to God. When someone suddenly dies beside him, so that his consecrated head is defiled, then he is to shave his head on the day of his purification. Seven days later he is to shave it again. On the eighth day, he is to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then the priest is to offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to make atonement for him because of the guilt he incurred on account of his contact with the dead body. Then he is to consecrate his head on that day. He is to dedicate to the LORD the days of his consecration by bringing a year old male lamb as his offering. The previous time will have failed because his consecration became defiled.
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.'
"Watch out! I'm sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly, the LORD you are looking for will come to his Temple. He is the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Watch out! He is coming!" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, "Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!" read more. He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'"
He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'" John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey. read more. Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him,
Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins. read more. But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't think you can say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree that isn't producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water as evidence of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire."
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness."
Herod had arrested John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." read more. Although Herod wanted to kill him, he was afraid of the crowd, since they regarded John as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday celebration was held, the daughter of Herodias danced before the guests. She pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked for. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me, right here on a platter, the head of John the Baptist." Under pressure because of his promises and his assembled guests, the king ordered that it be done. So he sent word and had John beheaded in prison. His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. When John's disciples came, they carried off the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
During the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Suddenly, Zechariah could open his mouth, his tongue was set free, and he began to speak and to praise God.
Now the child continued to grow and to become spiritually strong. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.
Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!
Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John because he had married his brother's wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done.
That man John was a lamp that burns and brightly shines, and for a while you were willing to rejoice in his light.
Fausets
Son of Zacharias (of the course of Abijah, 1Ch 24:10) and Elisabeth (of the daughters of Aaron), who both "walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Elisabeth was related to the Virgin Mary; but Scripture does not state the exact relationship; the Greek in Lu 1:36 (sungenees), which our Bible renders "cousin," means any "relation" or "kinswoman," whether by marriage or birth. It is noteworthy that Jesus, of the Melchizedek order of priesthood, was related to but not descended from the Aaronic priests. Zacharias was old, and Elisabeth barren, when, as he was burning incense at the golden altar, Gabriel announced the answer to his prayers (not directly for a son, but, as Israel's representative, for Messiah the Hope of Israel) in the coming birth of a son, the appointed forerunner of Messiah; John (Jehovah's gift) was to he his name, because his supernatural birth was a pledge of the Lord's grace, long looked for, now visiting again His people to their joy (Luke 1).
John was to be "great in the sight of the Lord" (contrast Baruch, Jer 45:5). He should be in himself a pattern of that self denial which accords best with his subject of preaching, legal repentance, "drinking no strong drink, but filled with the Holy Spirit (see the same contrast, Eph 5:18, the minister's enthusiasm ought to be not from artificial stimulant but from the Spirit's unction) from the mother's womb," a Nazarite (Nu 6:1-21). Like the great prophet reformer (compare 1Ki 18:36-37) Elijah in "spirit. and power" of preaching, though not in miracles (Joh 10:41), he should turn the degenerate "children to the Lord and to" their righteous "fathers, and the heart of the fathers to the children," their past mutual alienation being due to the children's apostasy; fulfilling Mal 4:4-6; bringing "Moses' law" to their remembrance, "lest Jehovah at His coming should smite the earth with a curse." Thus John should "make ready a people for the Lord." Zacharias for unbelief in withholding credit without a sign was punished with dumbness as the sign until the event came to pass.
In the hill country, where Elisabeth had retired, her cousin Mary saluted her, and the babe leaped in Elisabeth's womb. His birth was six months before our Lord's. At his circumcision on the eighth day Zacharias gave his name John; and his returning faith was rewarded with returning speech, of which his first use was to pour forth a thanksgiving hymn, in which he makes it his son's chief honour that he should be "prophet of the Highest, going before the Lord's face to prepare His ways" as His harbinger. John had the special honour of being the subject off prophecy ages before, and of being associated in close juxtaposition with Messiah Himself. John "waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel" (Lu 1:80). Meanwhile God's interposition in the wonders of his birth caused "all the people to be in expectation, musing in their hearts whether he were the Christ" (Lu 3:15). The thinly-populated region adjoining the hill country of Judea was his haunt; there communion alone with God prepared him for his work.
At 30, when "the word of God came to" him (Lu 3:2), he went forth, his very appearance a sign of the unworldliness and legal repentance. which he preached; his raiment a camel's hair garment secured with leather girdle (2Ki 1:8) as Elijah's; his food that supplied by the desert, locusts (Le 11:22) and wild honey (Ps 81:16). All classes, Pharisees, Sadducees, the people, publicans, and soldiers, flocked to him from every quarter, Jerusalem, Judea, and the, region round Jordan (Mt 3:5; Luke 3). The leading sects he denounced as a "generation of vipers" (compare Ge 3:15, the serpent's "seed"), warning them that descent from Abraham would not avail with out doing Abraham's works (compare Joh 8:39), and telling all practically and discriminatingly that the repentance needed required a renunciation of their several besetting sins; and that whereas, on their confession, he baptized with water baptism, the Mightier One would come baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11-12). (See BAPTISM.)
When the ecclesiastical authorities sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask, Who art thou? John replied, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord" (Joh 1:19-23). The natural wilderness symbolized the moral (Isa 32:15), wherein was no highway for the Lord and for righteousness. The hills of pride and the valleys of degradation must be brought to the one holy level before the Lord (Isaiah 40). John was the forerunner of the reigning Messiah (Mt 3:2; Mal 3:1), but through the nation's rejection of Him that reign was deferred (compare Nu 14:34 with Mt 23:37-39). John baptized Jesus and though knowing Him before as a man and his kinsman, yet then first knew His divine Messiahship by the Spirit's visible descent (Joh 1:30-34). (See JESUS; BAPTISM.) John thence forth witnessed to Jesus, desiring to "decrease that He might increase." By his testimony at Bethany (so oldest manuscripts for Bethabara) beyond Jordan, "Behold the Lamb of God," he led two of his disciples to Him, Andrew and John the apostle and evangelist (Joh 1:35 ff; Joh 3:23-36; 4:1-2; Ac 19:3).
Yet John never formally joined Jesus; for he was one of the greatest among the Old Testament prophets, but not strictly in the New Testament kingdom, the least in which, as to spiritual privileges, was greater than he (Lu 7:28). His standing was the last of Old Testament prophets, preparatory to the gospel. He taught fasting and prayers, rather in the spirit and therefore with the forms of, the old dispensation which the new would supersede, its new spirit creating its appropriate new forms (Lu 5:33-38; 11:1). Herod Antipas beheaded him in the fortress Machaerus E. of the Dead Sea, to gratify Herodias' spite for John's faithfulness in denouncing her adultery, and in slavish adherence to his reckless oath to give Herodias' daughter Salome, for dancing on his birthday, whatever she might ask. (See HEROD ANTIPAS.)
From the prison John had sent two (the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts read Mt 11:2 "by," dia, for duo, two) disciples to Jesus to elicit from Himself a profession of His Messiahship, for their confirmation in the faith. (See JESUS.) Jesus at once confirmed them and comforted John himself (who probably had expected to see Jesus more openly vindicating righteousness, as foretold Mal 3:2-5; 4:1-3), by an appeal to His miracles and preaching, the very credentials promised in Isa 35:5; 61:1. Jesus at the same time attested John's unshaken firmness, appealing to His hearers' own knowledge of him (Matthew 11). No reed shaken by the wind, no courtier in soft raiment, was John. But whether it was the ascetical forerunner, or the social Lord Himself, that preached, that generation was dissatisfied, with John because he was too self denying, with Jesus because He would not commend their self-righteous fastings: "we have piped unto you (unto John) and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you (unto Jesus) and ye have not lamented."
Of John as of Jesus they said, he hath a devil. John fell just before the third Passover of Christ's ministry; his disciples buried him Self denial, humility, wherewith he disclaimed Messiahship and said he was not worthy to unloose His shoes' latchet, zeal for the Lord's honour, and holy faithfulness at all costs, were his prominent graces. (On the "Elias who shall yet come," see ELIJAH, end.) John's ministry extended at its close into Peraea at the S.E. end of the lake of Galilee. When the herald was silenced the Master took up the message (Mr 1:14) in the same quarter. John's labours there so impressed Herod that, "he feared and observed him, and when he heard him did many things, and heard him gladly"; but would not do the one thing needed, give up his adulterous paramour, his brother Philip's wife.
Elijah was translated in a chariot of fire; but John died a felon's death, for the forerunner was to be as his Lord. The worthless Ahab reappears in Herod with similar germs of good struggling with evil. Herodias answers to the cruel Jezebel. As Ahab
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"I'll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He'll strike you on the head, and you'll strike him on the heel."
These creatures that you may eat include the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.
Then the LORD told Moses, "Tell the Israelis that a man or woman who commits to the vow of the Nazirite, is to be separated to the LORD, read more. then is to remain separate from wine and strong drink. He is not to drink vinegar or strong drink made from wine. He is not to drink grape juice or eat grapes, whether fresh or dried. During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to eat any product from the grapevine, from the seed to the skin. During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to allow a razor to pass over his head until the days of his holy consecration to the LORD have been fulfilled. He is to let the locks on his head grow long. "During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to come near a dead body. He is not to defile himself on account of his father, mother, brother, and sister when they die, because the crown of his consecration to God is on his head. During the entire time of his dedication, he is set apart to God. When someone suddenly dies beside him, so that his consecrated head is defiled, then he is to shave his head on the day of his purification. Seven days later he is to shave it again. On the eighth day, he is to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then the priest is to offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to make atonement for him because of the guilt he incurred on account of his contact with the dead body. Then he is to consecrate his head on that day. He is to dedicate to the LORD the days of his consecration by bringing a year old male lamb as his offering. The previous time will have failed because his consecration became defiled. "This is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his consecration are completed, he is to come to the entrance at the Tent of Meeting. He is to bring an offering to the LORD, a year old male lamb, and a year old ewe female lamb, both without blemish, for a sin offering and a ram without blemish for a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread made from choice flour, cakes mixed with oil, a wafer of unleavened bread smeared with oil, along with grain and drink offerings. The priest is to come into the LORD's presence and present his sin and burnt offerings. He is to offer the ram, a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD, along with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest is to present his grain and drink offerings. The Nazirite is then to shave his head of consecration at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to take the lock of his head of consecration and set it over the fire where the peace offering for sacrifice is. Then the priest is to take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one cake of unleavened bread from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread. He is to place them in the hands of the Nazirite, after he himself has shaved his symbol of consecration. The priest is to wave the offerings, that is, the breast and the thigh offering in the LORD's presence. Then the Nazirite may drink wine afterward. This is to be the law of the Nazirite when he commits his offering to the LORD on account of his consecration, over and beyond what he owns alone plus whatever he can provide, based on the vow from his own mouth that he vows to fulfill on account of the law of his consecration."
Just as you explored the land for 40 days, you'll bear the consequences of your iniquities for 40 years one year for each day as you experience my hostility.
As the time for the evening offering arrived, Elijah the prophet approached and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word. Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning back their hearts again."
They answered, "The man was a hairy fellow. He wore a leather sash around his waist." The king responded, "It's Elijah, that foreigner!"
But I will feed Israel with the finest wheat, satisfying you with honey from the rock. A Psalm of Asaph
until the Spirit from on high is poured upon us, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest."
"Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unblocked;
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed and to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners;
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't seek them. Indeed, I'm about to bring disaster on all flesh,' declares the LORD, "but your life will be spared wherever you go.'"
"Watch out! I'm sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly, the LORD you are looking for will come to his Temple. He is the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Watch out! He is coming!" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. But who will survive the day when he comes? Or who can stand when he appears? Because he's like a refiner's fire and a launderer's soap, read more. he will sit refining and purifying silver, purifying the descendants of Levi, refining them like gold and silver. Then they'll bring a righteous offering to the LORD. Then the offering to the LORD by Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable as it was in the past, even as in former years. "I'll come near to you for judgment. I'll be a witness, quick to speak against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who defraud the laborer of his wage, against those who defraud the widow and the orphan, against those who deprive the alien of justice, and against those who don't fear me," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
"The coming day is certainly going to burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and all who practice evil will be stubble the coming day will set them on fire," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in its light for those who fear my name. You will go out and leap like calves released from their stalls read more. and trample down the wicked. Indeed, they will become ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I do this," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "Remember the Law of Moses my servant that I gave him at Horeb for all Israel both the decrees and laws. "Pay attention! I'm sending Elijah the prophet to you before the great and dreadful Day of the LORD comes, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I'll come, strike the land, and utterly destroy it."
"Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!"
Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him,
I am baptizing you with water as evidence of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire."
Now when John heard in prison about the activities of the Messiah, he sent a message by his disciples
When Jesus became aware of this, he left that place. Many crowds followed him, and he healed all of them, ordering them not to make him known. read more. This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, whom I love, and with whom I am pleased! I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to unbelievers. He will not quarrel or shout, and no one will hear him shouting in the streets. He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he has brought justice through to victory. And in his name unbelievers will hope."
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! Look! Your house is left abandoned! read more. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, "How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"
Now after John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and proclaimed the gospel about the kingdom of God.
And listen! Elizabeth, your relative, has herself conceived a son in her old age, this woman who was rumored to be barren is in her sixth month.
Now the child continued to grow and to become spiritually strong. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.
and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
Now the people were filled with expectation, and all of them were wondering if John was perhaps the Messiah.
Then they told him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do those of the Pharisees. But your disciples keep right on eating and drinking." But Jesus told them, "You can't force the wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them, can you? read more. But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and at that time they will fast." Then he told them a parable: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, the new cloth will tear, and the piece from the new won't match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will make the skins burst, the wine will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is to be poured into fresh wineskins.
I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
Once Jesus was praying in a certain place. After he had finished, one of his disciples told him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
This was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself, admitted, "I am not the Messiah." read more. So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." "Who are you?" they asked him. "We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He replied, "I am ""a voice crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the Lord's highway,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."
This is the one about whom I said, "After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.' I didn't recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel." read more. John also testified, "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I didn't recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, "The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God." The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples.
John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People kept coming and were being baptized, since John had not yet been thrown into prison. read more. Then a controversy about ritual purification sprang up between a certain Jew and John's disciples, so they went to John and told him, "Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one about whom you testified look, he's baptizing, and everyone is going to him!" John replied, "No one can receive anything unless it has been given to them from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, "I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.' It is the bridegroom who gets the bride, yet the bridegroom's friend, who merely stands by and listens for him, is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom's voice. That's why this joy of mine is now complete. He must become more important, but I must become less important." The one who comes from above is superior to everything. The one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is superior to everything. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. The person who has accepted his testimony has acknowledged that God is truthful. The one whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God does not give the Spirit in limited measure to him. The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
Now when Jesus realized that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John although it was not Jesus who did the baptizing but his disciples
They replied to him, "Our father is Abraham!"
Many people came to him and kept saying, "John never performed a sign, but everything that John said about this man is true!"
He then asked, "Then into what were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism."
Stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit.
Hastings
The single narrative of John's birth and circumcision (Lu 1) states that, as the child of promise (Lu 1:13), he was born in 'a city of Judah' (Lu 1:39), when his parents were old (Lu 1:7). They were both of priestly descent (Lu 1:5), and his mother was a kinswoman of the mother of Jesus (Lu 1:36). John was a Nazirite from his birth (Lu 1:15); he developed self-reliance in his lonely home, and learnt the secret of spiritual strength as he communed with God in the solitudes of the desert (Lu 1:80). In the Jud
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Tell the entire congregation of Israel, "On the tenth of this month they're each to take a lamb for themselves, according to their ancestors' households, one lamb for each household.
"This is what you are to offer on the altar continually: two one year old lambs each day.
These creatures that you may eat include the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.
"Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil.
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.'
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he didn't open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
"Then they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of the people who rebelled against me. For their worm will not die, nor will their fire be extinguished, and they will remain an object of revulsion to all humanity."
I'll sprinkle pure water on you all, and you'll be cleansed from your impurity and from all of your idols."
"Look! I'm giving the order: I will sift the house of Israel throughout all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, yet not a single kernel will reach the ground!
"Pay attention! I'm sending Elijah the prophet to you before the great and dreadful Day of the LORD comes,
About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, "Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!"
"Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!" He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'" read more. John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey.
John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him,
Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins.
being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins. But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? read more. Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't think you can say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!
Don't think you can say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree that isn't producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. read more. I am baptizing you with water as evidence of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire." Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness."
and asked him, "Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for someone else?"
If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
They began discussing this among themselves: "If we say, "From heaven,' he will ask us, "Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, "From humans,' we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet."
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See! I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. read more. He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'" John was baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John was baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, being baptized by him while they confessed their sins. read more. Now John was dressed in camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist. He ate grasshoppers and wild honey. He kept proclaiming, "The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. I baptized you with water, but it is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
I baptized you with water, but it is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
King Herod heard about this, because Jesus' name had become well-known. He was saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That's why he is able to do these miracles."
John had been telling Herod, "It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
But I tell you that Elijah has come, yet people treated him just as they pleased, as it is written about him."
But if we say, "From humans'"?" They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone really thought John was a prophet.
During the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
They had no children because Elizabeth was barren and because both of them were getting old.
But the angel told him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.
because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord."
And listen! Elizabeth, your relative, has herself conceived a son in her old age, this woman who was rumored to be barren is in her sixth month.
Now the child continued to grow and to become spiritually strong. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. John went throughout the entire Jordan region, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
John went throughout the entire Jordan region, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight! read more. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight, and the rough roads will be made smooth. Everyone will see the salvation that God has provided.'" John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!
Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!
Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."
The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire." The crowds kept asking him, "What, then, should we do?" read more. He answered them, "The person who has two coats must share with the one who doesn't have any, and the person who has food must do the same." Even some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He told them, "Stop collecting more money than the amount you are told to collect." Even some soldiers were asking him, "And what should we do?" He told them, "Never extort money from anyone by threats or blackmail, and be satisfied with your pay." Now the people were filled with expectation, and all of them were wondering if John was perhaps the Messiah. John replied to all of them, "I'm baptizing you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I'm not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He'll gather the grain into his barn, but he'll burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire."
His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He'll gather the grain into his barn, but he'll burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire." With many other exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people. read more. Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John because he had married his brother's wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done. Added to all this, Herod locked John up in prison. When all the people had been baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened,
But if we say, "From humans,' all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."
He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him.
John told the truth about him when he cried out, "This is the person about whom I said, "The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.'" We have all received one gracious gift after another from his abundance, read more. because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah. No one has ever seen God. The unique God, who is close to the Father's side, has revealed him. This was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself, admitted, "I am not the Messiah." So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."
So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." "Who are you?" they asked him. "We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" read more. He replied, "I am ""a voice crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the Lord's highway,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."
He replied, "I am ""a voice crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the Lord's highway,"' as the prophet Isaiah said." Now those men had been sent from the Pharisees. read more. They asked him, "Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?"
They asked him, "Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I am baptizing with water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, read more. the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, "After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.' read more. I didn't recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel." John also testified, "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I didn't recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, "The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God."
It is the bridegroom who gets the bride, yet the bridegroom's friend, who merely stands by and listens for him, is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom's voice. That's why this joy of mine is now complete.
Then he went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and he remained there.
He had been instructed in the Lord's way, and with spiritual fervor he kept speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only about John's baptism.
He then asked, "Then into what were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism."
Therefore, the promise is based on faith, so that it may be a matter of grace and may be guaranteed for all of Abraham's descendants not only for those who were given the Law, but also for those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
and not all of Abraham's descendants are his true descendants. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."
So you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac.
Morish
Son of Zacharias, priest of the order of Abia, or Abijah (1Ch 24:10), and of Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, born when they were both old. The conception was foretold by the angel Gabriel, who announced that John was to be a Nazarite, and should be filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth. His mission was also foretold: in the spirit and power of Elias he would be the forerunner of Christ, and would call the people to repentance, according to the prophecy in Isa 40:3. All that is recorded of his early life is "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel." Lu 1:80.
When he began his ministry he is described as having on "raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey." He preached in the wilderness, calling on the people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The people went out to him, and were baptised of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. Mt 3:1-6. A godly remnant morally apart from the nation was thus prepared in spirit for the Lord. With these (the excellent in the earth, Ps. 16) the Lord Jesus identified Himself.
To the Pharisees and the Sadducees he was especially severe, calling them a 'generation of vipers' (Mt 3:7), but in Luke the multitude are so designated, for all must flee from the wrath to come, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. The axe was laid to the root of the tree. There was One coming with the winnowing fan, who would divide the wheat from the chaff.
When the religious authorities at Jerusalem sent to John to ask who he was, he declared that he was not the Christ, nor Elias, nor 'that prophet.' De 18:15,18. He was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord," as Isaiah had prophesied. Joh 1:19-23. The Lord, in speaking of John, said, "Elias is indeed come," Mr 9:13, which seems to clash with Joh 1:21; another passage however explains it: "If ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come." Mt 11:14. He had come in the spirit and power of Elias, as foretold by Gabriel; and he was Elias to those who received him and who afterwards followed the Lord, as Andrew and another in Joh 1:40.
So far we have considered John's official place as the forerunner of Christ, but in John's gospel the Baptist's testimony is given to the Lamb of God. He also adds, "I knew him not," but he had been told that He upon whom he saw the Holy Spirit descend and remain was the Baptiser with the Holy Ghost; and he adds, "I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." He may have known Jesus in a natural way, but his knowing Him as Son of God was by a divinely-given testimony. John proclaimed Jesus as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world;" and in the hearing of two of his own disciples he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." Jesus was to be the object of their hearts, and they followed Him. Afterwards, when John was told that Jesus was baptising, and that all the people were going to Him, he gave a remarkable answer: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." John was the friend of the bridegroom. The Lord said that among those born of women no one was greater than John; but the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than he, because the latter was in a new dispensation, John being connected with the law and the prophets of the old dispensation. Mt 11:11-13.
While in prison John's faith or patience seems in measure to have failed him, and he sent two of his disciples to the Lord with the question, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" He evidently had not apprehended the humiliation and rejection of the Messiah, and expected to have been delivered from prison by the power which he knew had been exercised in grace by the Lord. The Lord wrought various miracles while John's disciples were there, and bade them tell him what they had seen and heard, adding, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Lu 7:19-23.
It was because of John's faithfulness in reproving the sins of Herod Antipas that he had been by him cast into prison. This led to his death through Salome and her guilty mother. John's work was done; he was faithful unto death. Mr 6:14-29.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"The LORD your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him,
I will raise up a prophet like you from among their relatives, and I will place my words in his mouth so that he may expound everything that I have commanded to them.
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.'
About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, "Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!" read more. He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'" John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins. But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
I tell all of you with certainty, among those born of women no one has appeared who is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom from heaven is greater than he. "From the days of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom from heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people have been attacking it, read more. because the Law and all the Prophets prophesied up to the time of John. If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
King Herod heard about this, because Jesus' name had become well-known. He was saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That's why he is able to do these miracles." Others were saying, "He is Elijah." Still others were saying, "He is a prophet like one of the other prophets." read more. But when Herod heard about it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised," because Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom Herod had married. John had been telling Herod, "It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn't do it because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that John was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John, he did much of what he said. In fact, he liked listening to him. An opportunity came during Herod's birthday celebration, when he gave a banquet for his top officials, military officers, and the most important people of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. So the king told the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." He swore with an oath to her, "I'll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom." So she went out and asked her mother, "What should I ask for?" Her mother replied, "The head of John the Baptist." Immediately the girl hurried back to the king with her request, "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John's head. The soldier went and beheaded him in prison. Then he brought John's head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John's disciples heard about this, they came and carried off his body and laid it in a tomb.
But I tell you that Elijah has come, yet people treated him just as they pleased, as it is written about him."
Now the child continued to grow and to become spiritually strong. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.
and sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for someone else?" When the men had come to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, "Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for someone else?'" read more. At that time Jesus had healed many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. So he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have observed and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear again, the dead are raised, and the destitute hear the good news. How blessed is anyone who is not offended by me!"
This was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself, admitted, "I am not the Messiah." read more. So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."
So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" John said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." "Who are you?" they asked him. "We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" read more. He replied, "I am ""a voice crying out in the wilderness, "Prepare the Lord's highway,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
Smith
was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father, Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia or Abijah,
and Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron.
Lu 1:5
His birth was foretold by an angel sent from God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The birth of John preceded by six months that of our Lord. John was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth.
Lu 1:15
Dwelling by himself in the wild and thinly-peopled region westward of the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for the wonderful office to which he had been divinely called. His dress was that of the old prophets --a garment woven of camel's hair,
attached to the body by a leathern girdle. His food was such as the desert afforded --locusts,
and wild honey.
And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to the discharge of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, and the general expectation that some great one was about to appear, were sufficient to attract to him a great multitude from "every quarter."
Many of every class pressed forward to confess their sins and to be baptized. Jesus himself came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. [JESUS] From incidental notices we learn that John and his disciples continued to baptize some time after our Lord entered upon his ministry. See
See Jesus Christ
Joh 3:23; 4:1; Ac 19:3
We gather also that John instructed his disciples in certain moral and religious duties, as fasting,
Mt 9:14; Lu 5:33
and prayer.
Lu 11:1
But shortly after he had given his testimony to the Messiah, John's public ministry was brought to a close. In daring disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; and when John reproved him for this, as well as for other sins,
Lu 3:19
Herod cast him into prison. (March, A.D. 28.) The place of his confinement was the castle of Machaerus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was here that reports reached him of the miracles which our Lord was working in Judea. Nothing but the death of the Baptist would satisfy the resentment of Herodias. A court festival was kept at Machaerus in honor of the king's birthday. After supper the daughter of Herodias came in and danced the king by her grace that he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. Salome, prompted by her abandoned mother, demanded the head of John the Baptist. Herod gave instructions to an officer of his guard, who went and executed John in the prison, and his head was brought to feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had denounced. His death is supposed to have occurred just before the third passover, in the course of the Lord's ministry. (March, A.D. 29.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
These creatures that you may eat include the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.
They answered, "The man was a hairy fellow. He wore a leather sash around his waist." The king responded, "It's Elijah, that foreigner!"
But I will feed Israel with the finest wheat, satisfying you with honey from the rock. A Psalm of Asaph
Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him,
Then John's disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"
During the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John because he had married his brother's wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done.
Then they told him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do those of the Pharisees. But your disciples keep right on eating and drinking."
Once Jesus was praying in a certain place. After he had finished, one of his disciples told him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People kept coming and were being baptized,
Now when Jesus realized that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John
He then asked, "Then into what were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism."
Watsons
JOHN THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of the Messiah, was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and was born about six months before our Saviour. His birth was foretold by an angel, sent purposely to deliver this joyful message, when his mother Elizabeth was barren, and both his parents far advanced in years. The same divine messenger foretold that he should be great in the sight of the Lord: that he should be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb; that he should prepare the way of the Lord by turning many of the Jews to the knowledge of God; and that he should be the greatest of all the prophets, Lu 1:5-15. Of the early part of the Baptist's life we have but little information. It is only observed that "he grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel," Lu 1:80. Though consecrated from the womb to the ministerial office, John did not enter upon it in the heat of youth, but after several years spent in solitude and a course of self-denial.
The prophetical descriptions of the Baptist in the Old Testament are various and striking. That by Isaiah is: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God," Isa 40:3. Malachi has the following prediction: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse," Mal 4:5. That this was meant of the Baptist, we have the testimony of our Lord himself, who declared, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias who was to come," Mt 11:14. The appearance and manners of the Baptist, when he first came out into the world, excited general attention. His clothing was of camel's hair, bound round him with a leathern girdle, and his food consisted of locusts and wild honey, Mt 3:4. The message which he declared was authoritative: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and the impression produced by his faithful reproofs and admonitions was powerful and extensive, and in a great number of instances lasting. Most of the first followers of our Lord appear to have been awakened to seriousness and religious inquiry by John's ministry. His character was so eminent, that many of the Jews thought him to be the Messiah; but he plainly declared that he was not that honoured person. Nevertheless, he was at first unacquainted with the person of Jesus Christ; only the Holy Ghost had told him that he on whom he should see the Holy Spirit descend and rest was the Messiah. When Jesus Christ presented himself to receive baptism from him, this sign was vouchsafed; and from that time he bore his testimony to Jesus, as the Christ.
Herod Antipas, having married his brother Philip's wife while Philip was still living, occasioned great scandal. John the Baptist, with his usual liberty and vigour, reproved Herod to his face; and told him that it was not lawful for him to have his brother's wife, while his brother was yet alive. Herod, incensed at this freedom, ordered him into custody, in the castle of Machoerus; and he was ultimately put to death. (See Antipas.) Thus fell this honoured prophet, a martyr to ministerial faithfulness. Other prophets testified of Christ; he pointed to him as already come. Others saw him afar off; he beheld the advancing glories of his ministry eclipsing his own, and rejoiced to "decrease" while his Master "increased." His ministry stands as a type of the true character of evangelical repentance: it goes before Christ and prepares his way; it is humbling, but not despairing; for it points to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world." The Jews had such an opinion of this prophet's sanctity, that they ascribed the overthrow of Herod's army, which he had sent against his father-in- law, Aretas, to the just judgment of God for putting John the Baptist to death. The death of John the Baptist happened, as is believed, about the end of the thirty-first year of the vulgar era, or in the beginning of the thirty-second.
The baptism of John was much more perfect than that of the Jews, but less perfect than that of Jesus Christ. "It was," says St. Chrysostom, "as it were, a bridge, which, from the baptism of the Jews, made a way to that of our Saviour, and was more exalted than the first, but inferior to the second. That of St. John promised what that of Jesus Christ executed. Notwithstanding St. John did not enjoin his disciples to continue the baptism of repentance, which was of his institution, after his death, because, after the manifestation of the Messiah, and the establishment of the Holy Ghost, it became of no use; yet there were many of his followers who still administered it, and several years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, did not so much as know that there was any other baptism than that of John. Of this number was Apollos, a learned and zealous man, who was of Alexandria, and came to Ephesus twenty years after the resurrection of our Saviour, Ac 18:25. And when St. Paul came after Apollos to the same city, there were still many Ephesians who had received no other baptism, and were not yet informed that the Holy Ghost was received by baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, Ac 19:1. The Jews are said by the Apostle Paul to have been "baptized unto Moses," at the time when they followed him through the Red Sea, as the servant of God sent to be their leader. Those who went out to John "were baptized unto John's baptism;" that is, into the expectation of the person whom John announced, and into repentance of those sins which John condemned. Christians are "baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," because in this expression is implied that whole system of truth which the disciples of Christ believe; into the name of the Father, the one true and living God whom Christians profess to serve; of the Son, that divine person revealed in the New Testament whom the Father sent to be the Saviour of the world; of the Holy Ghost, the divine person also revealed there as the Comforter, the Sanctifier, and the Guide of Christians.
JOHN THE EVANGELIST was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, son of Zebedee and Salome, by profession a fisherman. Some have thought that he was a disciple of John the Baptist before he attended Jesus Christ. He was brother to James the greater. It is believed that St. John was the youngest of the Apostles. Tillemont is of opinion that he was twenty-five or twenty-six years of age when he began to follow Jesus. Our Saviour had a particular friendship for him; and he describes himself by the name of "that disciple whom Jesus loved." St. John was one of the four Apostles to whom our Lord delivered his predictions relative to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the approaching calamities of the Jewish nation, Mr 13:3. St. Peter, St. James, and St. John were chosen to accompany our Saviour on several occasions, when the other Apostles were not permitted to be present. When Christ restored the daughter of Jairus to life, Mr 5:37; Lu 8:51; when he was transfigured on the mount, Mt 17:1-2; Mr 9:2; Lu 9:28; and when he endured his agony in the garden, Mt 26:36-37; Mr 14:32-33; St. Peter, St. James, and St. John were his only attendants. That St. John was treated by Christ with greater familiarity than the other Apostles, is evident from St. Peter desiring him to ask Christ who should betray him, when he himself did not dare to propose the question, Joh 13:24. He seems to have been the only Apostle present at the crucifixion, and to him Jesus, just as he was expiring upon the cross, gave the strongest proof of his confidence and regard, by consigning to him the care of his mother, Joh 19:26-27. As St. John had been witness to the death of our Saviour, by seeing the blood and water issue from his side, which a soldier had pierced, Joh 19:34-35, so he was one of the first made acquainted with his resurrection. Without any hesitation, he believed this great event, though "as
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A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.'
"Pay attention! I'm sending Elijah the prophet to you before the great and dreadful Day of the LORD comes,
John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey.
If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. His appearance was changed in front of them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. He told the disciples, "Sit down here while I go over there and pray." Taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, he began to be grieved and troubled.
Jesus allowed no one to go further with him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain to be alone with him. His appearance was changed in front of them,
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives facing the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were asking him privately,
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, "Sit down here while I pray." He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to feel distressed and troubled.
So the Lord Jesus, after talking with his disciples, was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
During the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, having lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord. read more. They had no children because Elizabeth was barren and because both of them were getting old. When Zechariah was serving with his division of priests in God's presence, he was chosen by lot to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense, according to the custom of the priests. And the entire congregation of people was praying outside at the time when the incense was burned. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled, and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel told him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth, because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
Now the child continued to grow and to become spiritually strong. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.
When he arrived at the man's house, he allowed no one to go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the young girl's father and mother.
Now about eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray.
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.
So Simon Peter motioned to this man to ask Jesus about whom he was speaking.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he kept loving standing there, he told his mother, "Dear lady, here is your son." Then he told the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water immediately came out. The one who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows he is telling the truth so that you, too, may believe,
For they did not yet understand the Scripture that said that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the Temple guards, and the Sadducees came to them.
Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail.
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They went down and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
He had been instructed in the Lord's way, and with spiritual fervor he kept speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only about John's baptism.
It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul passed through the inland districts and came to Ephesus. He found a few disciples there
But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God's love has truly been perfected. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God:
Dear friends, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard.
The person who says that he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. The person who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no reason for him to stumble. read more. But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness and lives in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Stop loving the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father's love is not in him.
See what kind of love the Father has given us: We are called God's children and that is what we are! For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not recognize him, either.
This is the message that you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because what he was doing was evil and his brother's actions were righteous.
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love one another. The person who does not love remains spiritually dead. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life present in him. read more. This is how we have come to know love: the Messiah gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers. Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God be present in him? Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.
And this is his commandment: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus the Messiah, and to love one another as he commanded us.
Dear friends, let us continuously love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. read more. This is how God's love was revealed among us: God sent his unique Son into the world so that we might live through him. This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
We have come to know and rely on the love that God has for us. God is love, and the person who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. This is how love has been perfected among us: we will have confidence on the day of judgment because, during our time in this world, we are just like him. read more. There is no fear where love exists. Rather, perfect love banishes fear, for fear involves punishment, and the person who lives in fear has not been perfected in love. We love because God first loved us. Whoever says, "I love God," but hates his brother is a liar. The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love the God whom he has not seen. And this is the commandment that we have from him: the person who loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child. This is how we know that we love God's children: we love God and keep his commandments. read more. For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep his commandments, and his commandments are not difficult,
I was overjoyed to find some of your children living truthfully, just as the Father has commanded us.
The children of your chosen sister greet you.
I was overjoyed when some brothers arrived and testified about your truthfulness and how you live according to the truth I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are living according to the truth. read more. Dear friend, you are faithful in whatever you do for the brothers, especially when they are strangers. They have testified before the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. After all, they went on their trip for the sake of the Name, accepting no support from gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can become genuine helpers with them. I wrote a letter to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be in charge, will not recognize our authority.
Demetrius has received a good report from everyone, including the truth itself. We, too, can testify to this report, and you know that our testimony is true. Although I have a great deal to write to you, I would rather not write with pen and ink. read more. Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak face to face.
Instead, I hope to see you soon and speak face to face.
I am John, your brother and partner in the oppression, kingdom, and patience that comes because of Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.